the notes are good – Page 6 – The Notes are Good

05.4 BSF Matthew Week 5, Day 4

My Daily Journal:

I am a firm believer in the art of management by catching people doing things right. I believe that recognizes and rewarding the positives is far more valuable than a constant focus of the opposite.

A few years ago I was a children’s leader for level 2 which would be 3rd and 4th graders. I had brought stickers and while my co-leader was given the lecture/lesson I was wondering through the children. As I saw kid’s focused and paying attention I very quietly leaned over and gave them a sticker for their nametag and a quick “thank you for paying such great attention.”

I was doing this and one little guy noticed and immediately stopped shuffling around and started paying attention to my co-leader. After a few moments I gave him a sticker. Almost immediately after which he went back to being distracted and a bit of a distraction to others. Instead of addressing him, I continued what I was doing and soon gave a young lady sitting next to him a second sticker with another thank you because she was continuing to stay focused. The little boy immediately snapped his face up and me and said, “wait… we can get more than one?”

I think we often approach the rewards of God the same way. We are saved and confident of our place in heaven so we can go back to the distractions of this world. But God’s rewards are infinite and not limited to “just one.”

Do you think you will receive God’s reward should not be a yes/no question. How much treasure do you want to store up in heaven to be able to lay at the feet of the One who gave it all to you? How trusted do you want to be? How much do you want to stand in fellowship with the saints and prophets?

My Answers:

7.
5:12 Rejoice & be glad heaven reward same as prophets

6:3 Do not seek return on acts from men, lose heavenly reward

6:22 Hatred of men, exclusion & insult, rewarded in heaven b/c doing right

19:11 Trustworthy in little things, rewarded with great things

3:8 according to own labor

3:23 according to dilligence

10:35 Confident in heavenly reward

11:6 Faith alone is pleasing to God

8.
a.
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b.
This isn’t a black/white, on/off. I am trustworthy, but could be more trustworthy, I’m confident, but could be moreso, I have faith and every day that I read and pray and spend time with God, it grows

05.3 BSF Matthew Week 5, Day 3

Today’s Scripture

My Daily Journal:

We live upside down lives in an upside down and inside out world. In so many ways our ways and thoughts are different that God’s. We think of the bible message as standing the world on its head, but it is the opposite, we are already inverted and pointed the wrong direction from birth – the good news is that God wants to right things and put us back on solid footing.

Few places is this more evident than in the beatitudes. To demonstrate this, let’s look at each of them in reverse:

Do you want to receive the kingdom of heaven? Then be poor in spirit. Don’t hoard it, spend it, pour it out, it is not a collector’s item, it is seed to be planted and tended.

You want to be comforted? Then mourn. Come along side the sick, weak, poor, suffering. Open your heart and compassion and mourn with them.

You want to inherit the earth, to be great among men? Then be meek. Serve don’t be served. Humble yourself.

Do you want to be filled? Then fast. Go hungry and thirsty for the sake of righteousness. Pass on the junk-food of this world for the amazing banquet of the Almighty.

Do you want to be shown mercy? Be merciful

Do you want to see God? Purify your heart. (Growing up we would recite Psalm 51:10-12 as part of confession prior to taking communion.)

Do you want to be called a child of God? Then seek peace (not just the absence of war as in a stalemate or negotiated truce, but actual and lasting peace). Be a peacemaker not a warrior or diplomat.

Do you really want the kingdom of heaven? Then put yourself out there in this world for righteousness sake, with the knowledge that you are going to be persecuted. Be bold. Do not be ashamed of the gospel.

But all of this was and is the opposite of our thinking. We think to receive the kingdom of heaven we need to lock ourselves away in study. Self assurance makes a good leader, not meekness. We look to avoid mourning and hunger. We believe in the survival of the strongest; show no mercy; climbing the ladder no matter who gets stepped on. Peace? A strong offense is the best defense.

In other words, our ways are not God’s ways. Our thinking is not God’s thinking. And, FYI: Ours is wrong.

My Answers:

5.
The beatitudes are upside down/opposite to man’s thinking: Is 55:19 My ways higher than your, my thoughts that yours, 1 Cor 2:13 not the words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, 1 Cor 3:19 the wisdom of the world is foolishnes with God 1 Cor 1:18 the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us it is the power of God

6.
a.
Strong, Content, Proud, Unrighteous, Unmerciful, Stronghearted (self-sufficient), Warriors, Persecutor

b.
Meek, pure in heart, peacemaker – Gives me calling to serve and great joy in that service

05.2 BSF Matthew Week 5, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Post Modern Man Thirsts for the Mercy of the Trinit-“P” = PMMTMPPP = Poor in Spirit, Mourn, Meek, Thirst and Hunger, Merciful, Pure in Heart, Peacemakers, Persecuted.

I loved that the description of these that BSF used was “Eight Characteristics of True Christians.” Let me contrast that with the description “situation.”

As humans we blame situations and “stuff” a lot. Stuff happens. Bad karma (cringe!). That’s life. People mourn because something bad has happened. People are meek because they lack power or strength. People go hungry because of poverty or strife.

But in this sermon, these are situations or events or s**t that happens. These are choices. The one who is poor in spirit is the one who pours out their spirit, spending it for the benefit of others. The one who mourns is the one who cares and comes along side those in trouble and need. The one who is meek is the one who willingly lays down their power and bragging rights for the opportunity to lift up others. The one who hungers and thirst for righteousness puts righteousness above even the most basic level on our human hierarchy of needs. Merciful, Pure in Heart, Peacemaker – all choices. Persecuted because of Righteousness is the choice we share with the prophets of old, to stand on the Word of God even knowing the human hardship it will bring.

This isn’t a list of “bad things happen to people but God makes everything right in the end”. This is a list of characteristics. This is a list of choices. It is Christ describing His mission and what he is calling His followers to do in kind. We don’t need to ask WWJD – here’s the playbook.

My Answers:

3.
To receive something special, a gift. To have some who looks after you and does good for you, as in a benefactor. To be able to help or care for others with a willing and joyful heart

4.
a.
Poor:
One whose own spirit is spent, depleted or who recognizes their own spirit as insufficient

Mourn:
Sad or broken hearted. To be moved by loss or grievance to the point ot pain. To recognize ones own grievances as such.

Meek:
Humble, not boasting, not proud for owns sake

Thirst/Hunger:
One who is permeated by the desire for righteousness: emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically

Merciful:
To put others before self. To seek good for others over gain for self.

Pure in Heart:Committed to God and God alone. To trust only in Him

Peacemakers:
Peace with God through reconciliation, to be ambassadors to others on His behalf and to not discriminate in that work.

Persecuted:
One who is true to righteousness to point of suffering to maintain that position

b.
Post Modern Man Thirsts for the Mercy of the Trinit-“P” = PMMTMPPP = Poor in Spirit, Mourn, Meek, Thirst and Hunger, Merciful, Pure in Heart, Peacemakers, Persecuted.

c.
They are interlinked. For me it is to hunger and thirst more for righteousness – there is so much wickedness surrounding us you begin to accept it as the way of the world instead of recognizing it as unrighteousness and offensive to God.

04.2 BSF Matthew Week 4 Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

I loved the idea of the Holy Spirit as personal trainer. Faith is a muscle. Temptation and testing is nothing but dead weight. Sure, we need to be careful to not drop it on our foot, but facing and overcoming temptation is a tool to building strength when done with the right discipline and trainer.

We were told last week that the Spirit remained with Jesus. The spirit worked with and in Jesus to prepare and strengthen Him for His calling, His mission. His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him. His refuge was in the Spirit. He was training, preparing, growing stronger every hour and minute.

Part of any fighter’s training is time in the ring. A good trainer is a good ring man, with the fighter, in their head, in their corner, coaching, encouraging. The Spirit did this with Jesus. For 40 days and nights They (the Trinity) spent time alone in the wilderness in preparation. As Jesus battled the demands of his human nature and its yearnings to be fed, His spirit grew in strength and fortitude. When Satan saw Jesus at His weakest, He was strong – not in his own human strength but in the power of the word of God. Satan didn’t go in the ring with kid gloves, he went in swinging, but there are no new temptations and nothing as powerful as the Word.

The downside of this analogy is that every time I’ve thought about the Spirit of God this week, I keep picturing Mickey from the Rocky movies.

My Answers:

3.
a.
In the wilderness. Led there by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil

b.
Faith is a muscle, strengthened through proper use. Temptation is not punishment or even that we have done wrong/strayed, it is just dead weight.

4.
a.
Jesus did not add to or take from God’s word. He also trusted it whole-heartedly in full obedience to what it says

b.
D. Satan addressed Eve with a question, Jesus with an accusation
D. Eve relied on her own eyes
D. Eve yielded to temptation and sinned
S. Satan spoke
S. Satan was crafty
S. Satan desired sin

03.5 BSF Matthew: Week 3, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Forewarning: At the risk of sounding gross… Here is an illustration about the different baptisms of John and Jesus and a perspective on why Jesus decided to be baptized:

Imagine you have a sack or bag made out of cotton, like t-shirt material. You use this sack when “walking your dog” and you use it to pick up the dog poo. You then carry this bag with you wherever you go, and it gets more and more full every day.

As gross as this sounds to be carrying around, this is what sin is in our life. Every time we sin, we scoop a little more gross, offensive material in our bag. That was, in particular, how it was in the time of John the Baptist. Everyone had sin, everyone had a gross, stinky, porous bag of poo.

John called people to recognize they were carrying this around with them every day and to do something about it. They couldn’t get rid of it, but by confessing and being baptized they could at least clean the outside of it. By repenting they could commit to putting less new poo in the bag.

People got the message. They came from near and far. But some people (mostly the leaders) were in denial about their bag of poo. They thought that if their bag was less full than someone else’s, theirs didn’t stink. Some of them tried to dress up their bag of poo to mask or hide it. They would dress it up in pretty robes or sprinkle it with perfume. When they showed up at the river they tried to not even bring their bag of poo with them – pretending it didn’t exist. But it did. John caught a strong whiff of it and rebuked them. He called it what it was!

But here is the deal – John only had the ability to wash the outside of the bag. Then one day, along comes Jesus and an amazing thing happens.

Jesus, the one and only person ever who did not have a bag of poo (because he had no sin), chose to get in the water. Imagine what this water (where all the poo bags where being rinsed) was like. Along comes the King of Kings, perfectly clean, and he made the choice to climb in this filthy water with His subjects, the commoners and all their sin

He chose to take on our filthy rags so that he could “fulfill all righteousness) so we could become clean and enter into His Father’s Palace. This choice was huge – in many ways just as big if not bigger than being born a human, because this marks the start of His choice to His obedience to the Father’s plan of salvation. This is the start to the pain and suffering. This is the start to the path that leads to an undeserved death.

But, in so doing, Jesus is setting the stage for a new baptism. One that doesn’t just clean the outside in water, but through the blood of His sacrifice, it opened the door to the Holy Spirit to do the work in us of cleaning and purifying us inside and out, transforming us into saints, pure and clean.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”
– Isaiah 1:18

Like the “wool” of the unblemished Lamb of God.

My Answers:

12.
a.
‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

b.
The voice of God and the spirit came down as a dove and remained on him

c.
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

13.
a.
Hear the preaching of baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, Come to the river, Confess their sins, be baptized

b.
He had no sins to confess

c.
To fulfill all righteousness – to submit to the plan of God in obedience as fully human to be joined with mankind.
Ps 40:8 I desire to do your will, my God. Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (as he came out of the waters of baptism)

03.3 BSF Matthew: Week 3, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

My son has recently collected my father-in-law’s faceting equipment with the hope and plan of learning how to cut gemstones. The process of cutting gemstones really does not involve any “cutting”. It is much more a process of careful a careful and precise grinding down with finer and finer grits to the point of polishing.

On a microscopic (or at least magnified) view, a rough stone consists entirely of valleys and mountains and rough places. In the grandness of the universe the scale of our actual mountains is not much different.

Through confession we acknowledge the roughness in our own life. Through repentance, we allow the work of our Master to grind that roughness away and wash it out of our life. It is this repeated process of confession and repentance – acknowledgement, submission and work of a changed outlook and structure, through which we are transformed.

The beauty in a perfectly faceted gemstone is not the stone itself. It is the fact that each side and each angle is polished to a perfectly smooth and reflective surface so the light that enters is magnified and reflected back. In the same way, the work of confession and repentance transforms us into a reflection of the master stone cutter.

My Answers:

4.
a.
Parents both of priestly line, Father served in temple, observed all commands and were blameless, prayed, prophesized by Angel that John would be a Nazarite. His parents were also obedient (naming him John). Sent as the prophet to turn hearts

b.
I grew up in a Christian household centered in service. My mom spent countless time in the nursery carrying for the “smallest of these” My dad taught bible study, served on councils and committees and always attended and gave joyfully

5.
a.
He called people to repent and change – to live a just life. He extolled them not to rely on their birthright but to be servants to God. He rebuked any, including Herod, and was locked in prison

b.
Do not rely on history, be fruitful today. Be generous and compassionate. Be fair and honest. Be just and content.

6.
a.
Baptized with water for repentance, confession of sins, salvation from coming wrath

b.
Confess: to acknowledge wrong deeds, not just mistakes, but insults to God because of disobedience

Repent: to commit to change and living a new/different life

7.
a.
Confession and repentance are are equalizers of people, we all sin and rely on God’s saving work. Works glorifying to God (charity and honesty and justice and contentment) remove human hierarchies

b.
At times I see myself as more than I am. At other times my self view is lower than what God sees in me. I’m a rough stone. But as God smooths my rough edges through confession and repentance and His grace, I become polished and reflective.

Photo credit: Richard W. Wise, G.G.
Author: Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur’s Guide To Precious Gemstones

03.2 BSF Matthew: Week 3, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Perfect Practice. There is an old saying that practice makes perfect. But as any coach or personal trainer will tell you, this is not true. Practicing the wrong golf swing over and over and over again will not make that a perfect golf swing, it will just make you really comfortable with doing it incorrectly. Practicing playing a piece on the piano with the wrong note over and over makes you really good at playing the wrong note. It takes perfect practice to lead to perfect.

Perfect practice isn’t exciting. It doesn’t have lots of conflict or drama. It is the daily drill and practice of the Armed Forces. It is the miles trekked by a cross-country runner. It is hard work. It is discipline. But it isn’t much to write about.

This is the life Jesus led. Every day he faced temptation; temptations that are faced at every age and stage of life. He was not hidden away, he lived with family, he attended feasts, he interacted with others. But He did it all without sin.

Jesus’ perfect practice was a practice of perfection.

My Answers:

3.
a.
He grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and grace. He knew His Father and did His work. He was obedient, grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man

b.
i. perfected through suffering, made high priest to Abraham’s kids
ii. High priest, tempted in every way, yet did not sin
iii. prayed: cries and tears. Obedient in suffering, perfect, source

c.
He is not a distant, unattached being – He was fully human, a son of Abraham, who was tempted, but did not yield to sin. His death was not the payment of His sin, it was for ours – Fully obedient to pay the price of disobedience

d.
He was a child, a son, a man. He had the wisdom and spirit of God, but he had the body fully of a man, suffering temptation, pain, tears, separation, but always obedient.

02.5 BSF Matthew: Week 2, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

I looked up the word, refuge. I had thought of a refuge as a physical structure – some sort of stronghold or fort. But that is incorrect. According to the definition, a refuge is a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. It is a condition, a state of being.

So, who needs a refuge? By definition, a refugee needs a refuge. A refugee is a person who is outside his or her country of origin or habitual residence because they have suffered (or fear) persecution.

In 1 Peter 1:17, this is what we are called to be: “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”

Do I live as a refugee? Do I seek refuge from the One who can provide it in this upside down world? Do I call on the Most High to be my refuge and my strength or do I bend to conform to this world?

My Answers:

10.
a.
They put their trust and obedience fully in God. Through that they were saved from death, protected, did not fear the terror of night. They loved the Father and His (their) Son and were rescued

b.
1. dwells in the shelter of the Most High, 2. says: He is my refuge… in whom I trust 9. if you say the Lord is my refuge, 14, Because you love the Lord, he will rescue you and protect you, for you acknowledge his name.

c.
Everything I have comes from the Lord. Every opportunity, every person in my life. Why would I rely on my power in comparison to God’s? Martin Luther said, God created the world out of nothing; so as long as we are nothing, he can make something out of us.

11.
a.
Wisemen (Magi) watched for, saw and obeyed to worship, God honored and aided their obedience through the non-obedient, Pay attention to dreams from God – worked for Magi, worked for Joseph (go to Egypt), worked again for Joseph (go to Israel), and again (don’t go to Judea)

b.
I think God gave me life after surgery not because I had been obedient to Him, but because He had plans for me to become so. 2 weeks before my surgery I started in BSF and it was the first thing I returned to. I have stayed every year since.

02.3 BSF Matthew: Week 2, Day 3

Today’ Scripture

My Daily Journal:

I’ve often thought about the gifts the Magi presented to the Christ child. I would think about how they presented these very expensive gifts not to receive anything in return – how could they, He was but a child. While all of that is true, it isn’t the main thing.

I realized in this, they could have stayed home and sent gifts if it was about the gifts. It wasn’t. The gifts were nothing but an outward sign. The important thing was showing up with a worshipful mindset.

This is what God did. This is what we should do. God planned this time from the beginning of the world, from the fall of man forward all prophecy pointed to this event. But he didn’t send in a savior, He showed up and did it himself for His own glory.

Where do I need to show up and be fully present? Where am I distracted and thinking about other worries, instead of trusting and obeying the one in control. What am I holding on to instead of being fully present and engaged?

God was all in (fully man/fully God) – why should I think I should do any less than be fully present in serving and worshiping Him?

My Answers:

5.
a.
Boaz redeemed Naomi and Ruth at the threshing floor, Married and bore Obed, grandfather to David who was annointed by Samuel in Bethlehem

b.
Hosea 11:1 – out of Egypt I called my son
Jerimiah 31:15 weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more

6.
a.
Jews and Leaders, Romans, all plotted to kill Jesus and eventually did: Matthew 4:6; Luke 13:34; John 8:59; John 10:31; Matthew 12:14; Matthew 26:4; Mark 3:6; Mark 11:18; Mark 14:1; Luke 13:31; Luke 19:47; John 5:18; John 7:1; John 7:25; John 8:37; John 8:40

b.
Many have been persecuted and killed for their faith and work to lead others to Christ. While in America, we suffer little persecutaion, in other countries people are threatened, persecuted and killed for loving Jesus

c.
My children have experienced more than I have in public school and particularly from teachers (often those in authority). I feel we are all bombarded with temptation and the world. Television is so distracting – Our family removed ours and have turned off cable TV all together. It doesn’t bring glory to God!

7.
a.
To earnestly seek Him, regardless of cost. To trust in God and study and follow His teaching and signs. To listen to Him over any others. When we do this we are rewarded with personal time with our Lord – an amazing gift.

Today’ Scripture

My Daily Journal:

My Answers:

5.
a.
Boaz redeemed Naomi and Ruth at the threshing floor, Married and bore Obed, grandfather to David who was annointed by Samuel in Bethlehem

b.
Hosea 11:1 – out of Egypt I called my son
Jerimiah 31:15 weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more

b.
To be purposeful in prayer and study.

02.2 BSF Matthew: Lesson 2, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Imagine the shock the Magi must have experienced. They came from afar to worship the newly born King of the Jews. They came to the logical place, the seat of power for the Jewish nation, to the royal palace – this is where you would expect the long awaited King to be, right? But instead they found – disturbed people! Why wasn’t everyone worshiping this King? They knew who the Magi were talking about. Herod himself called together the priests and teachers and asked them “where the Messiah was to be born.” He knew exactly who the Magi sought.

You would think after all these years of anticipation they would be falling over themselves to meet and worship the Messiah. But that would have meant letting go of their anticipation. They were comfortable in anticipation. They understood it. They had built entire structures and positions around it. It was ingrained in their lives, meals, even their calendar. The messiah showing up would mess all that up!

How we do the same! We know the love God has for us and the calling He has on our life, but we are comfortable. We pray for comfort and peace. For the easy and comfortable path. God calls us to be bold, to obey no matter what, and to trust that he not only has our back, but also our front and top and sides, inside and out. But it is hard to let go.

I am praying this year for boldness and obedience. I don’t know what God has in mind, but I know it is bigger and better than anything I can imagine. I know there will be “Herod’s” along the way, but God is bigger.

My Answers:

3.
a.
Jesus (born), Magi (came to Jerusalem, asked, saw star, came to worship), Herod (disturbed), All Jerusalem (with Herod), Chief priest & teachers (knew promise of Messiah), Herod (secretive, found exact time of star, sent Magi to Bethlehem, ordered to report back to him, lied)

b.
Jesus is as He always was. Some who are wise actively seek Him to show honor and praise. Some, particularly those with power, seek only their own preservation of power, some who are followers, blindly follow the leaders. Wise men seek the one true Lord.

c.
I am a wise man because I have heard and seen the calling of my Lord and God. I was lost and blind and I still stumble and fall (way too often). But, I “get up” and seek to be obedient in honoring my God

4.
a.
Origins from old, from ancient times

b.
come from Judah, from Bethlehem

c.
Ruler over Israel